Aside from being an Italian winner of the rainbow jersey, Paolo Bettini finds himself with something else in common with Mario Cipollini; being accused by the Italian authorities of pretending to live in Monaco in order to evade income tax.
The former world and Olympic champion is accused of evading €11 million [$16.6 million] over several years, with La Gazetta Dello Sport reporting that the Italian Guardia di Finanza has gathered “inconvertible” evidence to support the allegation.
The year long investigation has found that Bettini transferred his residence to Monaco, but continued to live in Italy, owning property and possessing shares in businesses there.
Earlier this year Cipollini was convicted of tax evasion during 2003 and 2004, having lived in Lucca in Tuscany despite claiming to being a resident of Monaco. He escaped a 22 month prison sentence, but is liable for a large fine.
In September, Rebellin, the F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi and former rally driver Tiziano Siviero were charged with similar fraud, while in 2008 MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi was forced to pay 35 million euros (then $46 million) to the tax authorities.
Bettini is yet to comment on the situation. He retired in 2008 after a long career, during which he won the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2006 and 2007 world road race championships, stages in each of the Grand Tours, plus Classics such as Milan San Remo, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro di Lombardia.